


Ginny Weasley and the Year of Recovery

by GinevraWeasleys



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-07-07 09:12:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15905280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinevraWeasleys/pseuds/GinevraWeasleys
Summary: Ginny Weasley is fresh off of the trauma that was her first year at Hogwarts. Now returning as a second year, she will be forced to face the inner demons that linger from the ordeal, and perhaps find a way to make peace with all that happened.Basically, Ginny deals with the emotional baggage that she undoubtedly had at the end of Chamber of Secrets.





	1. Chapter 1

Ginny Weasley sat in the Gryffindor common room scribbling furiously in her diary. It was happening again; a strange sensation she had come to know over the passed months. As she wrote, Ginny felt herself slipping. She felt herself losing control. She wanted to stop writing, to slam the small book shut, but she couldn't. It was as if some unseen force was guiding her actions. She fought with all of the willpower she could muster, desperate to break free from the trance that she could feel herself falling into. But it was too late and before she knew it, everything was going dark.

Suddenly Ginny was standing in the corridor near the library. She could feel something damp, sticky, and warm seeping through her robes. Terrified, she looked down. She was covered in blood, but it wasn't her own. It coated her hands and was splattered all down her front. Ginny looked around her. On the wall to her right, in large bloody lettering, was a message:

YOU WILL NEVER BE RID OF ME FOOLISH GIRL

Ginny wanted to get away from this place. She turned to run but before she had the chance she tripped over something laying on the ground. She looked at the object and her stomach sank in horror and she gasped as she realized it was not an object at all, but a person. A person who was stiff as a board and whose eyes were frozen in a state of pure terror. A person, Ginny recognized immediately, as Hermione Granger. 

Ginny didn't know what to do. She tried to reach down and help Hermione somehow, but suddenly it was not just Hermione laying in front of her. It was also Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Nearly Headless Nick, and even Filch's cat Mrs. Norris. All petrified, all with the same look of shock etched into their features. At this point Ginny tried to back away but she was stopped dead in her tracks by the sight of Dumbledore and professor McGonagall making their way towards her. They were both staring at her with piercing eyes. McGonagall was the first to speak.

"What have you done, Weasley?"  
Dumbledore answered before Ginny could, looking very grave. "Why Minerva, can't you see? She has viciously attacked her fellow classmates. She is the monster we have feared all along. She now shares her soul with Voldemort himself." 

Ginny was at a loss for words. She glanced wildly between the petrified and the professors. "No I- I didn't mean to- "  
Dumbledore cut her off.

"My dear girl, just take a look at yourself."  
Suddenly Dumbledore was brandishing a mirror, Ginny stepped in front of it and she at first saw nothing more than her own reflection. But then, to her absolute horror, she saw her features begin to shift. 

Right before her eyes, her reflection was transforming. She was growing taller, her flaming hair was darkening and seemed to be receding into her head. She closed her eyes, afraid to look at what was happening. When she finally opened them, she was nowhere in sight. Instead, the handsome form of Tom Riddle was reflected back at her. He was smiling wickedly, clearly pleased at the events which were unfolding. 

"You see." Said Dumbledore. "This is what you are now." 

Ginny couldn't take it anymore. "No!" She yelled, tears beginning to rush down her face. "This isn't me, this isn't me!" 

"My dear, I'm afraid it is you." Said Dumbledore, retrieving his wand from his robes. "And I'm afraid I have no choice..." he continued, raising the wand to Ginny. 

"Professor, please!" Ginny cried, but it fell on deaf ears. Dumbledore muttered an incantation and there was a blinding flash of light as Ginny screamed.

She awoke with a start. For a moment she panicked, not knowing where she was, until she remembered her family's stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Quickly remembering that she was sharing a room with Hermione, Ginny tried to steady her heavy breathing as she shook off the night's dream. These dreams- these nightmares, had been a regular occurrence ever since the night she woke up in that chamber.

That night, the memory of Tom Riddle which had been preserved in the diary had been destroyed. Ginny's memories of the boy and the terrible events of the last year however, remained woefully intact. Ginny sat up from her bed and glanced out the window to see sunlight just barely starting to wash over Diagon Alley below. Morning was beginning to set in, and Ginny dreaded the day ahead. 

It was September 1st, and it was the day that she would be returning to Hogwarts for her second year of school. Exactly a year previously, Ginny had been bursting with excitement at the thought of boarding the Hogwarts Express and finally joining her brothers at the school, but now, she could think of very little that sounded worse. 

Only a brief period of time passed before Ginny began to hear stirring in the next room over, the room her parents were staying in. No doubt it was her mother up getting ready and taking care of last-minute things before she sent her five children off for another school year. Ginny knew that it wouldn't be long before her mother started pounding on doors to make sure everyone was up and getting themselves ready for their departure. Ginny laid in bed replaying her dreadful first year in her mind and pondering the year she was about to face until the wake-up call from her mother finally came. Once Hermione was also awake, Ginny tried to push her thoughts away. 

"Good morning Ginny, exciting to be going back to Hogwarts isn't it?" Said Hermione as she gathered up her belongings and began to get dressed for the day.  
"Yeah, super exciting." Ginny replied, trying to sound as genuine as possible. Hermione, satisfied by her answer, smiled in return and continued to pack her things. Luckily for Ginny, the rest of the morning went by without much need for conversation on her part. After her and Hermione joined the others downstairs, Ginny was able to go mostly unnoticed by the rest of her bustling family. 

Of course, this had become increasingly normal for the past year or so. After all, she was able to fly completely under everyone's radar while being quite literally possessed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. While her family had made a big fuss over her initially after Harry rescued her from the chamber, the sensation surrounding what had happened to her died down rather quickly, especially after the mass hysteria surrounding the escape of prisoner Sirius Black from Azkaban, and in no time she was back to just being Ginny. Everything was back to normal, at least in the minds of her family, by the time they had left for Egypt. 

Of course, she didn't want them to worry. She had put on a brave face for them. Had attempted normal for them. And she had even managed to feel genuinely happy on occasion since the ordeal. As much as everyone else, Ginny wanted to be able to move forward. She wanted so desperately to let normal return for her. But deep down, Ginny wasn't sure she even knew what normal was anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Ginny, her family, Harry, and Hermione arrived at King’s Cross station, their group hurrying to get onto Platform 9¾. Ginny had kept quiet for most of the morning so far, but no one questioned it. Harry was with them, and though she managed to share a small laugh with him at the expense of Percy for a moment, she never spoke much in his presence anyways. This was especially true since he had saved her down in the Chamber of Secrets. Since then, not only had her feelings for him increased tenfold, but it had also left Ginny with a sense of incredible guilt. He very nearly died during his efforts to rescue her, and she could barely so much as look at him without remembering that it would have been all her fault if he had. She noticed Harry and her father walk off seemingly to talk in private, and she was left to say her goodbyes to her mother. 

“Have a great time at school, love.” Said Mrs. Weasley giving Ginny a tight hug. “And do be more careful this year Ginny, I don't want to be receiving any more owls regarding the safety of one of my children.” 

Ginny was a bit caught off guard at this. It was the first her mother had alluded to the events of the previous year in weeks. She knew that her mother didn't like to think about it, she wanted to put it all behind them and pretend like it never happened. If only it were that easy.

“I'll be fine mum, I promise.” Said Ginny, trying to convince herself as much as her mother. 

With that, Mrs. Weasley gave her one more kiss on the head and saw her onto the train along with the rest of the Weasley children.

It wasn't long after Ginny boarded that the train began to move. She began navigating the corridor, following along behind Ron, Hermione, and Harry. She had noticed them whispering to each other before Ron rounded on her with an annoyed look.

“Go away Ginny.” He ordered bluntly. 

Ginny managed a snappy retort before walking off, but she couldn't deny that her brother’s dismissal hurt. She tried to shake it off, determined that she was going to get through this journey with composure intact. She continued down the corridor, all the while looking for an available compartment. Since she had gotten on rather late, most compartments were already full. As she made her way down the train, Ginny noticed people staring at her. She tried to tell herself it was all in her head, but it was hard to ignore once the whispers started.

“That's the girl who was attacking people last year.”

“I heard she was possessed by you-know-who.”

“Isn't she the one who opened the chamber of secrets?”

“Why wasn't she expelled?” 

Ginny could feel tears welling up in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She had made her way down practically the entire train, but no one seemed too keen on sitting with the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets and set a basilisk on her fellow classmates.  
She didn't really blame them, she still felt immense guilt over the whole thing. She didn't know how she would be able to look Colin, or Justin, Penelope Clearwater, or even Sir. Nicholas in the eye all year. It was certainly hard enough to do so with Hermione, despite the fact that she had been extremely forgiving. 

Ginny at last came upon a compartment that was mostly empty except for one girl. Ginny recognized her vaguely, and was pretty sure the girl was in the same year as her. She had blonde hair and wide silvery-blue eyes, and Ginny was pretty sure she was in Ravenclaw. It was hard to remember exactly; Ginny had after all, been pretty preoccupied with other things last year. With extremely limited other options, Ginny slid open the compartment door. 

“Hi, er...would it be all right if I sat here?” Ginny asked, looking at the girl with hopeful eyes and preparing for rejection. 

“Oh, of course.” Said the girl, in a dreamy almost sing-song voice. “I didn't think anyone would be joining me, most people tend to avoid me you know.” 

Ginny was a bit taken aback by this statement, and the bluntness with which the girl had said it. Ginny didn't know how to respond to the girl’s statement, so she didn't. Instead she busied herself by sitting down opposite the girl and settling in. 

“Thank you.” Said Ginny.

“It's no problem, really.” Said the girl with a smile. “My name is Luna Lovegood by the way.” 

“Nice to meet you” said Ginny politely. “I'm-” 

“You're Ginny Weasley.” Finished Luna. 

“Er, yeah.” Said Ginny awkwardly. 

She could feel herself going red. She knew the reason why Luna Lovegood would know who she was. It was the same reason why everyone else at Hogwarts knew who she was. 

Luna seemed not to notice the sudden shift in Ginny’s demeanor. She continued on.

“It made me sad to hear about all of that stuff that you went through last year. It must have been awful for you.” 

Ginny blinked in response. 

“It's okay, you don't have to talk about it.” Said Luna, saving Ginny from having to answer. The girl then pulled a strange looking magazine out of her bag and began to read it, upside down. 

Much of the rest of the journey passed by in silence. Ginny was mostly grateful for this, because the last thing she wanted to do was let a conversation wander to the events of last year. However, there was a part of her that had grown to despise silence. It sometimes seemed louder and more maddening than anything else. So in a way, she was glad that Luna hadn't pressed her to talk more about what happened last year. Instead Luna seemed to be off in her own world entirely. But while they both sat in silence, Ginny thought that Luna’s silence looked much more blissful than her own. 

They had been on the train for several hours when their compartment door suddenly slid open, and Neville Longbottom was standing in the doorway.

“Hello, have either of you seen a toad? I've lost Trevor again.” 

Ginny didn't remember a lot of things from the previous year, but she remembered how often Neville’s pet toad seemed to disappear. 

“There hasn't been any toads in here.” Said Luna first. “Though there are quite a few wrackspurts buzzing around Ginny’s head” she added as an afterthought. 

Ginny and Neville stared at Luna, neither knowing what on earth a wrackspurt was. After receiving no explanation from Luna, Ginny returned her attention back to Neville. 

“I can come help you look for Trevor, Neville.” 

And with that she got up and exited the compartment, glad she decided, to get a distraction from the excruciating silence which had been allowing her mind to wander a bit too much.

Her and Neville had split up and taken different sides of the train for their search. As she walked along she passed the compartment that Ron, Hermione and Harry had settled in. She felt another rush of hurt at the fact that they had sent her away with nobody to sit with. It wasn't as if she had made many friends last year. In fact, she really hadn't made any. It wasn't long before Ginny felt a lurch that indicated that the train was slowing to a stop. She knew that they couldn't possibly be at Hogwarts yet. She looked out a window but couldn't see much, it was cloudy and extremely dark. She decided to begin making her way back towards her compartment when the train all at once halted completely in a harsh manner that almost threw her off her feet. Soon, there were people in the doorway of several compartments peering into the corridor curiously, until suddenly the lights went out and it was pitch black.

Unable to see, Ginny remembered that her brother’s compartment was closer than her own, and decided it would be easier to get there. She felt her way in the dark back to the door that she hoped was theirs. As she was about to open it, she heard it slide open on its own and then- SMACK. Ginny let out a painful yelp which was mirrored by whoever had collided with her. It turned out to be Hermione, who ushered her into the compartment. After a bit of commotion between herself, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, who had also seemed to find his way into the compartment, a man with a hoarse voice which Ginny did not recognize quieted them. 

Just then, she felt the temperature start to drop sharply.  
The unfamiliar man conjured a small fire and warned the group to stay in the compartment.  
Suddenly, Ginny felt strange. It felt as though any happiness she had in her was slipping away rapidly. She looked around the compartment at the others, who were all wearing solemn looks that didn't suit their usual demeanors. Ginny wanted to say something, but at that moment she heard the compartment door begin to slide slowly open. Her gaze followed the movement, and she was met by something truly terrifying. 

In the doorway, Ginny could see a large hooded figure which seemed to be floating above the ground, and it was hovering over them dauntingly. Looking at the figure caused chills to run down Ginny’s spine. She noticed it turn in Harry's direction, but as it loomed over them, she suddenly felt like she wasn't fully present in the moment unfolding in front of her. Instead, she felt a familiar sensation. A feeling of loss of control. She knew what it was. It was him. It was as if he was there inside her head all over again; Tom Riddle. 

She wanted to cry out but she couldn't, the fear in her was too great. But almost as soon as it had started, it was over. There was a bright silvery light and it was like Ginny was awakening from a daze. She was shaking, and the hooded figure was nowhere to be seen. Ginny began to panic. She wasn't sure what had happened, and she was afraid that she had blacked out, and even worse, she was scared at the sight of Harry who lay unmoving on the floor in front of her. 

“What- what happened?” Said Ginny after a long while, between heavy breaths. By this point the lights were back on and she could feel the train beginning to move again.

No one answered. Instead, everyone was huddled around Harry, who was now stirring as Ron slapped him in the face. Ginny still felt terrible. She felt drained and couldn't stop her trembling. She retreated into a corner as Ron and Hermione helped Harry get resituated. She looked at Harry, he seemed to get the worst blast of whatever that thing was, but apart from him, she felt like she was in a much worse state than everyone else in the compartment. 

Everyone began discussing what had happened with that thing, a dementor, the unfamiliar man who had introduced himself as Professor Remus Lupin had called it. He also passed around chocolate for everyone. Ginny held hers in her palm, still trying to calm herself, and couldn't stop the sob that escaped her lips. At this, Hermione came to her side and put a supportive arm around her shoulder. At professor Lupin’s encouragement, Ginny began to eat her chocolate, which surprisingly enough did help some. The rest of the train ride, which she spent in their compartment, was mostly quiet, much to her dismay. It left her alone with her thoughts of that horrible experience. 

Once they got to Hogsmeade station, Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly got separated from Ginny in the crowd. This was the first time Ginny would be taking the carriages that seemed to pull themselves up to Hogwarts. She managed to find a spot in a carriage with Neville and some other Gryffindor 3rd years. the carriages moved along and to her disdain, Ginny noticed more of those dementor creatures standing guard at the gates. The sight made her shudder. As they approached the castle, she had a million thoughts whirling through her mind. She thought about last year and the staring and whispering students on the train. She thought about the dementor, and she thought about how it had affected her. And she couldn't help but wonder what kind of year she had ahead of her.


	3. Chapter 3

After classes had been in session for three weeks, Ginny still didn't feel like she was back in the swing of things at Hogwarts yet. She wasn’t sleeping well. Her dreams were littered with diaries and snakes, statue-like figures and the whispers of a dark-haired boy. She was already struggling in her courses and it felt like her classmates were light years ahead of her. (Probably, she thought, because she had spent most of the last year being possessed.). She also still didn't really have much in the way of friends. In fact, it was safe to say that she really didn't have any friends at all. Much like last year, her brothers paid little attention to her as well. Fred and George were always getting up to their shenanigans, Ron was always with Harry and Hermione, both of whom Ginny still found it incredibly hard to be around. Even Percy was so caught up in his new position as Head Boy that he could hardly be bothered to concentrate on anything else. 

This isn't to say that people never attempted to approach her and talk to her. In fact, she got plenty of this. However, it was almost always someone looking for more details about the Chamber of Secrets, and about her involvement. Ginny decided after a while that the most beneficial thing she could do was to throw herself into her studies in order to try to catch up. She began spending much of her free time in the library. She found that this was ideal in the sense that people were less likely to approach her with questions, and it allowed her to get a better grasp on her subjects.

On one such occasion in the library, Ginny was sitting in her usual corner, trying to tackle some charms homework that she found particularly grueling. She had been poring over her books for a couple hours, but by this point had gotten rather distracted. She had been entertaining herself by flipping through the pages, stopping to look at the spells which seemed most interesting. She was just starting to read about one dubbed the ‘Bat Bogey Hex’ when she caught a glimpse of bushy hair around the corner of the nearest bookcase. Hermione was now standing before her, several large textbooks in her arms and a bit of an exasperated look on her face. Flagging the page to read up on the Bat Bogey Hex later, Ginny closed her book and greeted the other girl. 

“Hey Hermione.”

“Hi Ginny,” said Hermione in her usual friendly tone. “Would you mind if I joined you? This is the most quiet area of the library and I really need to get some work done.” 

“Go ahead.” Ginny said as she motioned for the other girl to sit down. 

Hermione did so, dropping the large pile of books from her arms onto the table a bit more heavily than she intended to. 

“Oh, sorry.” She said as she got herself situated at the table. “I’ve got a bit of a busy workload this term. It’s all quite fascinating really, but it is a lot.” 

Ginny considered Hermione for a moment before responding. The older girl had taken several pieces of parchment out of her bag, all covered in Hermione’s detailed writings and various charts which she had mapped out. Ginny suddenly felt a bit guilty for being so stressed out about her own academic situation. 

“Hermione...how many classes are you taking?” Ginny asked finally. 

“Oh you know, I’ve just got a couple added electives this year, that’s all.” Hermione answered vaguely. She had opened an ink bottle and after dipping her quill, began writing furiously on a new sheet of parchment. 

It was a long while before either of them spoke again. Ginny figured now that Hermione was here as a witness, she better actually focus on her schoolwork instead of letting herself get distracted. Finally, after much effort, she managed to complete an essay that she thought acceptable enough to hand in to Professor Flitwick the next day. Once this task was done, Ginny thought dreadfully about all of the other things she still needed to do. She still felt so far behind. She glanced again at Hermione scribbling away, and wondered how she did it. There she was right in front of Ginny with literal piles of homework, and yet Ginny knew that not only would Hermione get it all done, but she would surely receive top marks in all of her subjects. Still, Ginny couldn’t help but notice that Hermione did seem unusually tense as she hacked away at her homework. There was almost a bit of a frantic look about her as she wrote, stopped to consult her books, then wrote some more. Then a thought occurred to Ginny that made her feel uneasy. Perhaps Hermione was feeling the impact of her courses harder than usual this term because she had been petrified in the hospital wing for a good chunk of the end of the last one. Ginny had been so caught up in how behind she felt, that this was the first she had really stopped to consider how those who had been petrified were probably in the same boat as her. She thought about Colin now. He had been the first student she attacked and spent just about the entirety of his first year frozen in place. With these new thoughts to consider, Ginny decided that she had no room to feel sorry for herself about her homework. She also decided that she couldn’t bear to sit with Hermione in silence any longer. 

“Hermione, I think I’m going to go ahead and call it for today. It’s getting a bit late, the library will be closing soon.” Ginny began gathering up her things from the table to return them to her bag. Before she had made much progress though, Hermione looked up at her and closed her own book and put down her quill. 

“Ginny,” Hermione began slowly. “How have you been lately?” She was speaking as if she was trying to pick her words very carefully. “You’ve seemed a bit...isolated since term started.” 

Ginny felt her stomach give a lurch. This wasn’t exactly a conversation she was keen to have. 

“I’ve been alright.” Ginny answered, and she even gave a little smile, but she could tell Hermione wasn’t convinced. “I’ve just been trying to keep my head down and focus on my studies, you know?” Ginny hoped this continuation of her answer would please Hermione. School was something she could relate to. 

Hermione returned Ginny’s smile with a soft one of her own that seemed laced with concern. 

“I know last year was really tough on you. And I know that it isn’t something that just goes away over the summer. But it is a new school year, and I really hope that you can give yourself a fresh start. You don’t deserve to be so hard on yourself.” Once Hermione finished talking, she looked at Ginny expectantly. Ginny didn’t know what Hermione wanted her to say in response to this. If there was anything she felt like she didn’t deserve, it was any sort of sympathy, especially not any from Hermione of all people. However, something about Hermione’s words did provide her with a certain level of comfort. Ginny felt herself release a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding in. 

“Thanks Hermione. That really means a lot. Especially you know, coming from you.” Ginny gave another small smile, but this time it felt a bit more genuine. 

“I’m glad.” Said Hermione warmly, as she began to gather up her things. “Now, I do think that I am going follow your lead and call it for tonight.” She paused to glance at her now packed bag which looked near to bursting point. “Or at least, I think I’ll relocate to the common room.” 

They walked the path to the Fat Lady’s portrait together. Ginny still couldn’t say that she felt amazing, but something had definitely shifted in her after Hermione’s words. Hermione truly didn’t seem to hold any kind of negative feelings toward Ginny. She had even approached Ginny in the library on her own accord. As the two girls parted ways in the Gryffindor common room and Ginny climbed the stairs to her dormitory, she felt lighter than she had since her return to Hogwarts. Maybe she really would eventually be able to put all of this behind her. Thoughts of this stuck with Ginny until she finally went to bed, where she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this sitting in my head for a while, I’m excited to finally get the first chapter out there! Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
